National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1887-06-17
The Return of the Battle Flags,

The Return of the Battle Flags.
The Secords OF history cannot be de-
stroyed. The cuniform inscriptions i'm.
pressed in the clay taken from the banks OF
the Tigris and Euphrates and fixed by fire
are revealing the history of Babylon aud
Nineveh. The hieroglypbcs graved upon
the stones of the Nile and cemented By
blood into mausoleums for the Egyptian
kings tell the story that was to be con-
cealed.
And so It is everywhere. The records OF
history cannot be destroyed. The initials
of the great Napoleon were erased from the
Louvre when the Bourbons returned to
France after Waterloo, and the Louvre
itself has been defaced and almost destroyed
by mob, but the deeds Of Napoleon livein
the hearts Of all Frenchmen.
II is useless to attempt 1t, the records OF
history cannot be destroyed.
The bitterness engendered by civil strife
in our own country is fast passing away.
The men who stood in battle array, the one
side under the stars and stripes, the other
under the stars and bars, few years since,
eager for the contest, who SWALLOWED the
ground with fierceness" and ''smelled the
battle afar off," are no longer warriors,
seeking glory at the cannon's mouth, but
peaceful citizens all arrayed under one
banner, the banner of their common
country, redeemed from the only stain that
darkened its folds.
But the records Of history cannot be de-
stroyed.
Until the "mighty angel stands with his
right foot upon the sea and his left foot on
the earth" and "sware that there should be
time no longer,n the record Of that strug-
gle will last. "Time, war, flood, and fire."
such as visited the "seven hllled city," may
descend upon our country, and yet the
record Will stand of that heroic struggle
when brother met brother In the fercest
combat recorded since the days OF which
blind old Homer sang.
And who wants the record destroyed?
Would the soldiers Of the south wipe out
the memory Of Robert E. Lee, of Stonewall
Jackson, of Sidney johnson, and long line
Of heroic leaders, of the thousands OF their
brave comrades, some OF them In nameless
graves, whose life blood gave testimony OF
their faith and their heroism? Would they
taint the names and fame of those living
who were equally brave and true TO their
convictionss
Would the soldiers of the north have the
names Of Grant, and Logan, and Thomas,
and Mcpherson, and Farragut, and hun.
dreds Of others Of their gallant chieftains
living and dead, and thousands upon thou
sands of their comrades swept into OBJ
livion? Would they surrender, Arlington
with its memories? Would they forge,
themselves?
Would the people of the country the
men, the women, the children, north and
I south, give up the memory Of one brave
man on either side--living or dead-who
fought for what he believed to be right
Would the reunited nation surrender the
glory that clusters round the starry fag9
No. No. No.
The war is over, its bitterness Is gone
but Its memory lives forever, not to divide
the sections-but to prove that free Ameri-
cans united as they now are can never be
divided again, and that all the world com
bined could not enslave them.
Why, then, talk Of returning battle flags
They tell Of the glory of the men who los
them as well as OF that OF the men who wor
them. They tell the world that the great
American republic cannot be destroyed
that II lives, and will continue to live, th,
home OF the freemen-the refuge Of tn,
oppressed.
Why, then, talk Of returning battle flags
viii you destroy the archives of the govern
ment where the story of the war is toldS CT
then TO every civilized country In tn
world, to every library from the occident Il
the orient and search out the books tina
that tell Its history in every written Ian
guage and destroy them.
And yet the record of history cannot b.
destroyed.
AS Homer told from city to city In classi
| Greece the story Of Achilles and Hector, o
Diomed and the battle Of the gods, of tn
| wisdom Of Ulysses and the valor OF Ajax, 81
would some new Homer tell OF Grant anC
Lee, OF Logan and Stonewall jackson, o
Fauagut and Blair, of Sherman and Sher
Lookout Mountain and In the pits at Peters
burg.
No, the records Of history cannot be do
| stIoyed.
And who wants these flags? To whom
are they to be given9 Are there any con
federate companies, or battalions, or regi
ments, or legions, or brigades to receiy,
themP Are there any confederate state
whose governors will take them In charge
Is not this a nation, including all the state
and people who were in the late war, with
Washington as its capital Do not thes,
flags belong to the nationPs
Why, then, talk OF returning them
Where will they be kept and for what pur
poser Here they perpetuate the unity ans
glory OF the whole nation. Any where els,
they might teach sectionalism.
Let the flags remain where they are,
for their removal would not destroy the
records of history.
Lincoln taught us lesson when he told
the people that the tune OF Dixie had beer
captured and belonged to the nation and